Range Outlet Wiring

[Jeff C]

I have #6-3 Alum Wiring that was wired DIRECTLY to an 30 year old JennAir Downdraft Range, which I'm now replacing. The circuit is on two ganged 50a breakers. I'm going to put in a 3 prong outlet into the wall. The wire has 2 black wires, one with a red stripe, the other black wire with no stripe, and what looks like a bare ground wire. The directions on the outlet say to wire the "hot wires" to the two angled connections and the neutral to the "straight" connection. When I started this I noticed the "straight" connection has the word "neutral" embedded on the back of the connector.

Am I correct to assume that the black wire without the stripe is "neutral", the black wire with the red stripe is "hot" and the bare wire is ground? If that's right, then which what do I do with the "ground" wire?

Thanks Jeff C

p.s. I know what assume means and someone's going to say I should leave this up to a qualified electrician, but sometimes money is short and so is time, so please bear with me.

[Pete C.]

Sounds like you have the wrong style outlet for your current wiring which sound like it's 6/2, not 6/3 which would have a total of four conductors (black, red or black with red, white, and green or bare). Your current wiring is supplying two hot leads (the two black ones) and a ground (the bare one) and no neutral.

The outlet you have is a 120/240V without ground variety that requires a neutral (white) connection. What you need is a 240V (only) with ground outlet to go with your current wiring.

Better still would be to replace the wiring (cheap unless it's real long) with 6/3 (four conductors) and install the newer (and new code) four conductor 120/240V with ground outlet style. You don't need to change breakers or anything, it's just an additional conductor to neutral in the panel.

If you stick with aluminum wire (either your existing or new 6/3 AL) be sure to apply anti-oxidation compound to the connections and use AL or CU/AL rated devices. Revisiting the connections after a few weeks of use and retightening them (power off of course) is also a good idea.

Pete C.

[Jeff C]

Thanks for the reply Pete. The house is over 100 years old and the run is probably 80 feet to the breaker box. The outlet that the wonderfull guy with the "orange" vest gave me was a NEMA 10-50, even the box says range outlet. If I follow your lead, and get a 240v(only) with ground outlet, does that have a specific name I should ask for?

[gfretwell]

In a 3 wire setup the 3d (bare) wire is the neutral. That is not a legal way to do it these days but you are grandfathered in. DO NOT connect either black wire to the angled plugs, both are hot. Normally the neutral is an insulated white wire and you would have a bare ground but prior to 1996 there was an exception that allowed you to use a combined ground/neutral for ranges and dryers.

[Jeff C]

Thanks for the reply gfretw

The nice guy at the hardware store said almost the same thing, the bare wire was neutral. One of the connectors on the back of the plug does say "neutral". If I follow your lead and DO NOT connect either black wire to the angles plugs, where do I connect them?

Jeff C

[yourname]

I personally would not run the neutral on the bare wire, since you would then have no ground. An ungrounded stove can be a bad thing. Does the stove use 110 for anything? If not, it doesn't need neutral.

I suppose I wouldn't be too nervous if I grounded the stove to the plumbing or something, but ya know, wire be cheap.....

[RBM]

You misunderstood him. You do connect both insulated black wires to the angled slots, and the Neutral/ground(bare wire) to the straight slot

[Jeff C]

Thanks for the reply RBM2. I dont have the stove yet, it's ordered, but I figured I better get the wiring correct and the wall patched back up before it arrives. I'll connect both black wires to the angled slots and the bare wire to the neutral slot.

Once that's done and I have my trusty meter, I'll check the voltages. Anyone venture a guess what I should on each side(angled slot)?

Jeff C

[RBM]

Between the two angled slots 240 volt. Between either angled slot and neutral 120 volt. Be sure to get a three wire cord set with the range

[Pete C.]

I believe it would be a NEMA 6-50R which should be 240V only with ground. NEMA 14-50R would be the new style. There are more than one style of "range" outlet, more than one "dryer" outlet as well.

Here is a link to one chart of NEMA plug types I found:

Pete C.

[Jeff C]

RBM - Looks like I'm all set - 240 between angles, angled to neutral

120! Now on to patching the wall back up.

I'd like to thank everyone for their help

Jeff C

RBM (remove this) wrote:

[Wired1]

[Wired1]

[RBM]

So your point is that connecting three wires to an outlet is soooo difficult that mere mortals would be fools to attempt it!!!

[jay]

OH MY GOD !!!!!! You are about ready to either burn down you home or get electrocuted (or both). *** STOP NOW *** Call an electrician. DO NOT do this yourself. Are those few dollars worth your life and/or your home?

[zxcvbob]

Your black wire and black/red wire are hot. You connect them to the terminals labeled X and Y (angled) on the NEMA 10-50 outlet. The other (bare) wire is a grounded neutral wire. It connects to the W terminal.

Then you need a 3-wire cord set for the stove, and you need to follow the directions that came with the stove regarding the grounding strap for 3-wire installations. RTFM. ;-)

I'm assuming that the breaker for this is in your main breaker panel (not a subpanel) and that you do not live in a mobile home. If it is in a subpanel (or mobile home), then that bare wire is just a ground wire and cannot be safely used as a neutral -- you'll have to run a new

4-wire cable if your stove needs a neutral. (It's possible that the stove doesn't require a neutral; the manual should tell you this.)

To save yourself a lot of trouble a few years later, give the ends of the wires a good scrubbing with stainless steel toothbrush and apply that AL wire antioxidant black goop. I don't remember the brand name, but the guys in the electrical dept at any hardware store will know what it is.

Best regards, Bob

[Pete C.]

Apparently you can't read very well, can't post properly and think you know more than you do. I already specifically mentioned the anti-oxidation compound and retightening the lugs after a week or two if using AL wire. I also note that the NEC specifically excludes simple device replacement changes like this from their recommendations for permitting.

If you are indeed a licensed electrician you are an example of the insecure and questionably competent ones that give the profession a bad name. You should be well aware that what is permitted varies greatly from area to area. If you were truly competent you would also not be so insecure that you have to resort to "hire an electrician" and absurd "house fire" comments. You're probably so unqualified that you have to rely on outlet changing to make a living because no real (commercial) contractors will hire you.

Pete C.